The Wondrous Pink Flower
by Ceillean
Summary: Things go bad on a mission and all because of a stupid flower.


_Jedi Outpost, Ossus_

"I need some help here!" Eliziya called as she dragged Jedi Master Kyp Durron down the landing ramp. Scowling at him, she couldn't help but wonder how such a skinny person could weigh half a ton.

"No more cookies for you." She muttered as she heard thundering footsteps hurrying her way.

"What happened?" Jedi Knight Nikk Vox was the first to approach. He cocked his head to the side and slowly a devious little smile stretched out over his face.

"Stop staring and help me get him to the Healing Ward." She snapped at him.

"Is he…is he _high_?" Nikk said with a laugh as he grabbed Kyp's arm and haphazardly helped Eliziya carry him through the hangar bay.

Their fellow Jedi Knights began to whisper like a busy beehive and stare as if they'd seen a ghost, their surprise and awe little fluctuations in the Force. It was like carrying a wet sack of grain. Kyp had lost most of his muscular functions; his head was lolling on his shoulders and there was a perpetual grin plastered all over his face. His eyes were opened wide and in the next moment it was as if he'd fallen asleep.

And not to forget the giggling…

"I'm serious, Liz. The man looks high."

Eliziya grunted. "That's because he _is_ high."

_D'ni, small colony world near Ossus_

_Twelve hours earlier_

"So what's so interesting about a field of flowers?" Eliziya asked, hands planted firmly on her hips while she stared over an enormous and colorful carpet of the oddest flowers she'd ever seen. They were beautiful in their own way. Just like a hunchbacked monster could be beautiful. You just had to look long enough, look deep enough and eventually there was bound to be _something_ that wasn't hideous.

The flowers reminded her of gaping little mouths with long, slimy and puckered tongues rolled up into a little ball right in the center. Insects buzzed around the flower field, hundreds and hundreds of insects waiting to dive into their food reserves. "You know how much I hate bugs, right?" Eliziya asked, turning to face Kyp. "Please tell me there's a reason you brought me here?"

She held up a hand as he went to speak, palm up. "A _good_ reason."

Kyp laughed and gestured towards the field with a little nod. "The villagers claim that there's something dark hiding in the field."

"Yeah. A whole bunch of bugs. What's that got to do with us?"

Kyp arched a brow. "You are such a girl sometimes, you know that?"

Eliziya looked down at herself, poked at her breasts and gave a curt nod. "You're truly an avid observer, Master Jedi."

"_Anyway_." Kyp went on pointedly. "Some of the villagers have been getting sick. They blame it on the flower field. And they asked us for help."

"No. They asked _you_ for help. You're just forcing me to come along."

"You knew what you were getting yourself into when you agreed to come along."

"Had I known this trip would involve bugs, I'd have said no." She watched as Kyp took the first step into the insect infested field of colorful flowers. Reluctantly, Eliziya followed, trying her best not to mumble curses as she heard the all too familiar buzzing sound get louder the further she walked.

Goosebumps appeared all over her skin and a cold icy shiver ran down her spine. "This is just horrible, Kyp." She said, making a face. "Why couldn't it have been birds? Or frogs? Hell, why not slimy slugs? Why _bugs_?"

"Stop whining, Liz."

"I'm not whining. I'm stating –" She shrieked, screamed so loud that even the deaf could hear. Before she knew what she was doing, she jumped towards Kyp, wrapped her legs around his hips and held on as tightly as she could. At the same instant, she realized what a terrible mistake she'd made because Kyp started to laugh.

His laughter grew louder until she finally dropped back to her feet and glared at him. "Not funny."

He could barely contain his laughter and he couldn't speak, either. He was too busy trying to breathe in between all the laughing and snorting.

"You should have seen your face." He said after he'd calmed – nope, he kept laughing.

Eliziya slapped his arm and stalked forward like a little petulant child.

"Liz, wait!" Kyp called while he ran after her. He caught up with her a few moments later, took her elbow and spun her around. "I'm sorry but…it _was_ funny."

She pursed her lips and crossed her arms over her chest. "Which part? The screaming or me grabbing onto you like a monkey?"

And so the laughing resumed.

A little while later, after Kyp caught himself apologizing profoundly, they came up to a single tree situated in the center of the field. The branches were thick and round red fruits grew in between startling green leaves.

"You know what I find really annoying?" Eliziya asked, reaching out and touching her fingers to the soft wood. "All these colors. It's like a glowing neon sign saying _Touch Me_."

Kyp nodded. "It's how certain life forms lure in their prey."

Eliziya tilted her head upward, trying to ignore the buzzing bugs around her. "Do the villagers eat the fruits that grow in the field?"

Kyp shrugged. "They're simple people. If it's edible, I'm pretty sure they'd use it."

"What if those red fruits up there are poisonous?"

"I doubt it. This tree is hundreds of years old. The villagers would know if the fruits were poisonous." He shook his head. "No. There's something else here that's making these people sick."

"And we're going to go and look for it…" Eliziya mumbled, following Kyp through the field. "Yes, we're going to wade through horror-like flowers with their bug-eyed friends and hopefully their stings and their bites won't disfigure us and –"

"Watch your step."

Too late did she react to Kyp's words and she stepped into something that smelled so bad, she nearly gagged. "Please, don't tell me I just stepped into a pile of sh –"

"Today really isn't your day, is it?" Kyp said, knowing it wise to keep his laughter to himself as he took Eliziya's hand and helped her out of the little pool of…well, whatever the stinking stuff was. "Next time we're on a planet with a bunch of flowers, you can stay on the ship. I thought women liked flowers."

"Yeah, the normal kind. Not the kind that looks like it's about to eat you."

Smiling to himself, Kyp crouched down and gestured for Eliziya to follow. When she was nearly down on her knees, she steadied herself by laying a hand on his shoulder.

"These _are_ normal flowers, Liz. Native to this planet. And they're beautiful." He plucked a pink, gaping flower from the soil and held it out for Liz to take.

She didn't.

"I'm not touching that."

"Why not?" Kyp asked with a laugh, holding the flower underneath her nose. Eliziya pulled away and pushed his hand aside.

"No, thank you. I'll settle for old fashioned red roses, thank you very much."

A frown appeared on her forehead as she watched the pink flower…shiver? It seemed like there were veins running through the crooked blossoms and they pulsed in an even rhythm. "You might want to put it down, Kyp."

Kyp had no time to respond as a cloud of pink vapor suddenly erupted from the center of the flower. The long, sticky rolled up tongue-like appendage now lay limp along Kyp's wrist. Or rather it was stuck there.

Kyp started to cough and his eyes watered as the cloud of pink vapor began to dissipate.

"You okay?"

Kyp nodded. "Perfectly fine." He shook his arm free of the flower and made a disgusted face, which made Eliziya chuckle. But her laugh instantly died when she noted the change in his eyes. His pupils were tiny black pinpricks in the forefront of his green irises.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yep." He smacked his lips. "Fine." And he drew out the word a bit too long for it to sound fine to Liz.

She reached forward and firmly took his chin between her fingers, making him look at her. His face broke out into a crooked really silly looking grin. "I'm fine, Liz."

"No, you're not."

"I am." Kyp straightened and suddenly swayed on his feet. He took a large step back to steady himself, shook his head as dizziness threatened to get the better of him.

"Kyp –"

He started to laugh. It started as a quiet chuckle and then grew so loud that even birds went for cover.

"Aw, man. You just had to go and pluck that stupid flower!" Eliziya helped steady him on his feet while waiting until he was done with the laughing routine. "It's the flowers that are making these people sick, Kyp."

"Noooooo…" He shook his head, eyes glistening in the warm sunlight. "I'm not sick."

"I'll bet you twenty credits that you're going to be." Eliziya sighed. "Come on. We need to get you to a medic."

"I don't need a medic." He said. "I'm –"

Eliziya knew they were in trouble the moment he passed out.

_Nine hours earlier_

It had taken half a days' journey to get Kyp back to the ship. The villagers hadn't been any help at all, too afraid of the sickness that had suddenly befallen Kyp. On the one hand, Eliziya couldn't blame them. Who knew if whatever Kyp had was contagious? But on the other hand, she resented them for not even _trying_ to help.

After everything Kyp had been willing to do to help the villagers this was what he got in return?

"Don't…need…medic…" Kyp whispered, trying to walk but failing. He was running a fever and a light sheen of sweat covered pale skin. "Help…them."

Eliziya had managed to strap him into the co-pilots' chair, even though he was like a fish out of water. His arms and legs were flopping all over the place. "We're going to help you first."

"No!"

"Shut up, you idiot!" She snapped at him, her worry and fear getting the better of her. "Once you've recovered we'll come back with an antidote. They don't have the medical facilities to help you, Kyp. We need to get you home."

"I'm…fine."

Eliziya groaned as she plotted a course for Ossus. "You're stubbornness is going to get you killed someday, my dear Jedi."

Thankfully, they weren't too far from Ossus. Just a while longer and Eliziya could make sure Master Cilghal took a good look at Kyp. She glanced over to the co-pilots seat and took a deep, steadying breath. Biting her lower lip, she tried not to worry too much.

He seemed to be doing…well, okay. His vitals were normal; the only thing out of synch was his mind. It was like he was drunk. And then some.

Setting the ship on autopilot, Eliziya left the cockpit in need for a good cup of hot chocolate. The sugary sweetness would hopefully calm her frayed nerves. First insects galore, then a puddle of – she shuddered at the thought – animal excrements and then Kyp going loony because a flower literally spit dust at him.

When she stepped into the galley, a shudder went through the ship. She looked out to the round viewport and raised her brows as the hyperspace tunnel was replaced by a field of stars.

With a bad feeling in her stomach, Eliziya ran back to the cockpit and groaned aloud when the doors opened.

"What are you doing?" She asked slowly, watching as Kyp punched buttons with a single finger. He laughed when he looked over his shoulder.

"They make funny sounds when I push the buttons."

Eliziya bit her tongue to force herself not to laugh. "But it might be dangerous to push all those buttons, Kyp." She said, not able to hide her smile when she took her seat at the pilots' station. "In fact, we could get hurt if you press the wrong button."

"Oh! Look at all the red!"

Too late did she realize that Kyp had activated the blaster turrets. She jumped to her feet, grabbed his wrists in one hand and deactivated his side of the control boards. "No more buttons, Kyp."

He actually pouted. "You're no fun."

"And you're really, really not yourself."

He grinned at her.

_Three hours earlier_

She was about to lose her mind. Short of stunning him or knocking him the hell out, Eliziya had no clue, what to do with him.

It was like babysitting a five year old trapped in the body of a grown man. Seated opposite one another on the floor of the galley, Eliziya watched as Kyp ate what he would normally eat in half a week. There were vacuum packed meals along with chocolate candy bars and then he went and ripped open a sealed pack of several cakes that he wanted to try and once he was done with that, he went back to eating the vacuum packed meals.

"Are you done?" Eliziya asked, pointing to the empty packets of food on the floor. "You need to clean up your mess if you're done."

Kyp blew out a breath and leaned back, pulling his legs to his chest and loosely draping his arms over his knees. "I don't feel too well." He said, grimacing.

"Not surprising. You ate half of what we had on board."

"I really don't feel good."

"You need to head to the fresher?"

"Nope." He said with a little huff. He inhaled loudly and let his shoulders slump. "Is there any of that berry cake left?"

Eliziya closed her eyes and shook her head. "I thought you weren't feeling well?"

"I'm not." He held out his arms to her, wiggling his fingers in a gesture for her to come closer.

Five year old in a grown up's body.

Sighing, Eliziya crawled towards him. Kyp shifted position on the floor and laid his head in her lap.

For a while it was quiet, the only sounds the quiet hum of the hyperdrive and their breathing. But eventually, Kyp sat up looking like something huge had run him over. His skin was pale and a light sheen of sweat covered his face. "You okay?"

"Kriff, this hurts." He curled up into a tight ball, hands balled into fists as his body shuddered, his muscles spasmed.

_One hour earlier_

Eliziya checked the flight controls one last time and satisfied that everything was the way it was supposed to be, she went back to the galley where she'd left Kyp sleeping on the floor. For a long moment she'd thought that they wouldn't make it back on time. Whatever was coursing through his system had made his body convulse. It had stopped the moment he'd fallen asleep.

When she stepped out into the corridor, she was shocked to hear the feint hum of a lightsaber. She ran the rest of the way to the galley, her heart pounding like crazy as fear made worst case scenarios come alive in her mind.

"What are you doing?" She forced herself to stay calm as she saw Kyp holding his lightsaber in an attack position.

"Get back, Eliziya!" He called out in a deep voice and narrowed eyes. "It'll attack you if you move too quickly."

She raised her brows and blinked, moving her eyes to the direction Kyp was staring at with utter hatred. "There's nothing there."

"Are you blind?" He suddenly shrieked at her and for the first time since this debacle started, Eliziya was afraid. "It's right there!"

"Kyp." She said slowly, approaching him with an extended hand. "Sweetheart. There's nothing there."

But Kyp wasn't listening. Whatever he saw had him going all Jedi Master, which also meant protecting her. He took her arm and pulled her towards him, amethyst lightsaber held in front of them. "Work with me here, Liz. If it gets any closer, you need to run. Understand?"

Eliziya, closing her eyes and praying to all deities that ever existed, shook her head and turned in his arms. Slowly, she placed a hand on his wrist and pushed the lightsaber as far away as possible. Already she could feel the heat radiating off the blade. "Kyp, listen to me. You're fighting a ghost. You're hallucinating. Remember the flower? It's made you sick."

A tiny little frown appeared on his forehead. If there was a little sense left in that befuddled mind of his, it was showing through. Even if only a little bit. "This is what happened to the people of D'ni. We went there to help them. Remember?" She reached up and touched her fingers to his face. "There's nothing here that you need to be worried about."

All of a sudden Kyp let loose a yell that nearly shattered her eardrum. He pushed her aside, charging forward so he could fight an enemy that wasn't even there. Eliziya ran forward and caught his arm, tugging him back while twisting his wrist in a painful grip. He hissed, shock settling on his features as his lightsaber fell to the floor. Using the Force, Eliziya pushed it away. She grimaced as the still active blade left deep, smoldering scorch marks in the walls. Eventually, the saber settled down and deactivated.

"Get down!" Kyp yelled and threw himself to the floor, dragging Eliziya along with him. The wind was knocked out of her and she lay there, unmoving, for several long seconds.

She scrambled back up, noting how Kyp lay on his back. She crawled along his body, hoping that he was okay. "Are you done fighting your hallucination?" She whispered, more to herself than to Kyp.

When she was on eyelevel with him, Kyp grinned at her. "Hello there, beautiful."

"You've got to be kidding." She punched him in his upper arm, her brows pulled into a deep frown. "Are you okay?" She asked after taking a few deep breaths.

It took a moment for him to answer. "I think I'm going to be sick."

_Jedi Outpost, Ossus_

"You said a flower did this to him?" Master Cilghal's voice was calm as she helped lay Kyp atop an examination table.

"Yes. Spores maybe? I don't know. Some sweet smelling pink vapor. And then it attached itself to his hand." Eliziya pointed to a red mark near his thumb. "Take a look here."

"Tekli." Cilghal called to her assistant. "Take a sample and examine it as quickly as you can."

Tekli nodded and used a little scanning device to collect what she needed for her tests.

"How long has he been like this?" Cilghal asked.

"A little over twelve hours."

Kyp ripped his eyes open suddenly and turned his head, first staring at Eliziya, then Cilghal and finally settling his gaze on Nikk. "What are you doing here?"

Nikk raised a brow while one side of his lips lifted into a smile. "Watching you make an ass out of yourself. You know you're high on a flower, right?" He turned to Master Cilghal. "Can we record this for later reference?"

"Nikk." Eliziya hissed in a warning tone.

Kyp pushed himself up onto his elbows but then thought better of it. His face twisted up into a grimace of pain as he lay back down, curling up into a ball.

Eliziya stood by as he writhed on the exam table, moaning and groaning like an eighty year old while Nikk stood by and kept smiling like an idiot. Hours and hours passed and the only thing any of them could do was sit back, watch and wait while he hallucinated.

"How much longer does he have to go through all this?" Eliziya asked Cilghal when it was getting too hard to watch.

"His system is being cleared of the poison. It will take however long it will take."

It was an extremely unsatisfactory answer to say the least.

"I am ready to meet my Maker!" Kyp suddenly cried out, eyes squeezed tightly shut while he held on to his stomach with both hands.

Nikk started to laugh outright. "Are we recording this?" He asked again. He turned his attention to Eliziya. "Whether his Maker is prepared for the ordeal of meeting _him_ is another matter altogether."

"Nikk…you're not helping."

Almost an entire day later, Kyp woke up with the worst headache he'd ever had. He blinked away tears as a bright white light brought him to full alert.

"You're awake."

Kyp turned his head towards the voice and forced a little smile. "I am." He said but then he frowned. "What happened?" It was then he realized that he was back on Ossus, that he was in the healing ward and wearing the horrible medical gowns. "When did we get back?"

Eliziya rubbed her eyes. "Let me guess – you don't remember."

"Remember what?"

She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Where to start…"

"How about that a flower kicked his butt?" Nikk piped in from the other corner of the room.

Kyp raised his brows. "Pardon?"

"You remember the flowers, right?" Eliziya asked.

Kyp nodded. "Yeah. And I remember how you were going on about not wanting to be there. And then…nothing."

"The people of D'ni are getting sick because the flowers produce a toxin that makes them hallucinate. Among other things."

Frowning, Kyp ran a hand through his hair. "Wait…I was hallucinating?"

"Like you wouldn't believe it."

"We recorded a bit if you're interested to see." Nikk said with a big fat grin. "It's pretty funny. Especially when you thought Tekli was a Rancor."


End file.
